Total Lunar Eclipse - Canberra, Australia

[rustybones]

Hi all, first time poster, long time lurker So last night (28th August 2007), the southern hemisphere was treated to a spectacular sight of a total lunar eclipse.

This is the first time I've really done any night photography, so I went with the safe(ish) option of using the auto night mode on my Nikon D80. I'm still learning the in's and out's of my D80 so any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.

Also you can view more photos from last night on my flickr site

cheers
Rhys

[windrider86]

I must say you did a better job than i did. My moons either looked like the sun or a big glob of smudge in the sky

[PLouie]

Windrider86,

Because the moon reflects sunlight it is very bright so you must compensate by underexposing the shot. Sometimes you have to underexpose quite a bit. It's also a good idea to remove any filters you have as that may cause flaring or unwanted reflections on the extra glass.

[hpebley3]

Originally Posted by rustybones

Hi all, first time poster, long time lurker

Welcome!

Originally Posted by rustybones

This is the first time I've really done any night photography, so I went with the safe(ish) option of using the auto night mode on my Nikon D80.

That's pretty good for night mode.

Originally Posted by rustybones

I'm still learning the in's and out's of my D80 so any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.

The problem with night mode and the moon is the moon is not in night, it's in full daylight. The result is it tends to get over exposed in auto mode. I'm guessing you'll be more pleased with the results if you switch to manual mode, set your aperture to around f/11, ISO at 100 and your shutter speed to around 1/50s. Adjust shutter speed as need to get the best exposure.

Hope this helps.

[wattsbw2004]

i took some shots with my aperture at f/5 and my shutter at 1/250 to 1/400 which produced some good results. i'll post later tonight since im at work.

[AshamedGorilla]

Its a nice shot. The only real thing that troubles me is the TONS of empty space. Was there any way you could have zoomed in more, or is that your longest lens?
The only other small thing is to maybe us a smaller aperture and a longer exposer. But its still a great shot.

[rustybones]

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll definitely try them. I want to practice more of my night photography anyway.

PLouie - interesting you mentioned this:

It's also a good idea to remove any filters you have as that may cause flaring or unwanted reflections on the extra glass.

I have a Hoya UV filter attached to the end of my lens (which is only a Nikkor 18-70mm, I can't afford anything greater at the moment ). But that has answered the question I had in my head about the flare problem in some of those photos.

Does anyone know of any good resource sites I should check out concerning the Nikon D80's ? Ranging from basics to more advanced controls of the D80.

I thought I would ask just in case there is a site that I shouldn't miss out on, before I start doing more googling

thanks again

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by rustybones

Does anyone know of any good resource sites I should check out concerning the Nikon D80's ? Ranging from basics to more advanced controls of the D80.

Have you checked out Nikon's Digitutor site on the D80? Quite a bit of information there, and it's specific to the functions offered on your camera

[rustybones]

Originally Posted by Nicole

Have you checked out Nikon's Digitutor site on the D80? Quite a bit of information there, and it's specific to the functions offered on your camera

Awesome, thanks for that link Nicole

[PLouie]

I'm not sure what you mean by Advanced Controls unless you are talking about shooting in Manual, which I think is the best choice.

You'd be able to control your ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture, and White Balance.